Where's Michael?

The Impossible case of Michael Graham

"Marco? Come in." She said, barely able to keep her voice steady.
"Polo, Is something wrong Harry?" the handler replied through static from the speaker in Harriet's ear.
"Clear the Splash pad, Michael is here." Harriet lifted the rifle as she listened to the bulletin sent to the ear of each away team.
"Polo 1, positive configuration on port: 68886, Marco 1 through 5 handling. Spread out." Marco chimed. Harriet looked around and saw nothing but pure shadow. There was no sun here. No stars.
"Switch to thermals," Harriet said, speaking in the ear of all around her. She rotated the wheel on the four-eyes goggles, and the world lit up in various shades of red, purple, and blue. Each seeker did the same. They observed their surroundings. She has seen so many worlds, but none were so void of light. The area was cold. There were no trees, no landmarks, just empty black ground, like stone, as far as the eye could see, even with the assistance of the goggles.
"Michael." Harriet shouted, and for the first time in three years, she finally had her response.

"Mom," the voice came back, exactly how she remembered it, "Is that you?"
Harriet dropped her rifle, making several seekers at her side turn hastily at the sound. She ran toward the voice, her eyes built up tears in preparation for their reunion. The steps echoed in this place, each sound fading as soon as it was made.
She continued to call out, screaming Michael's name in desperation. Of course it would be here, this port, this place. It was under her nose the whole time. She heard the boy cry out again.
"Mom." he screamed, the sound so close Harriet could almost feel her son in her arms again...

A Missing Boy

The Case of Michael Graham is famous among the largest organizations in The Web. On a hot summer day, an eight year old boy hides in a nearby storm drain during recess. Hide and seek was his favorite game, and the children often praised his uncanny skill. The boy's name was Michael Graham and he found himself staring at a strange symbol that blocked the opening of the drain.

The crossing of light from holes in the drain created a tear in reality. It was the last place he was seen. His father (or mother on occasion), Harry Graham, founded Oxenfree after spending months waiting for the authorities to find his son. He returned to this storm drain and left the boy's stuffed bear inside. He waited, fell asleep, and woke to find the bear was gone. He checked his watch: 12:37. He returned every day for a week, and only then did he notice the streams of light seeping through holes in the metal.

At 12:35 every day the lights would cross creating a strange geometric star. The variations between the earth's tilt and the sun caused a new portal each day. All of them were worlds his son couldn't have entered. He used his fortune and influence to study these many worlds, all in the name of finding his son.
It's the same story across the multiverse. Every Michael will find the storm drain, see the star, and in the wake of his disappearance, every version of Oxenfree is born.

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An Impossible Case

Michael's Star is the symbol used to create portals to the many places that Oxenfree explores. This can only be done by crossing beams of light in such a way that a portal to the configured reality opens. This is the same shape through which Michael traveled through in the first place.
Each destination changes by the slightest fraction of a fraction of a degree. These changes are infinite and even though they can detect the general location of the reality Michael traveled to, the true changes are so small that they are undetectable to the human eye.

The rotation of the shape matters as well. The slightest change by an infinitely small degree will change what reality you open to. Oxenfree uses computers to perfectly align the shape, leaving no world unexplored as they travel along the star.

Fun Fact: Boogeymen

Oxenfree usually maintains independence from the rest of the web. They are still called upon when cases involving children emerge. The Seekers of Oxenfree are deeply connected to any incident involving metaphysical anomalies and Boogeymen. They created their "Home Team" to handle these incidents, and their track record is surprisingly successful.

The Coldest case

Currently Michael Graham is 11 years old across all versions and timelines. The cold hard truth of the case of Michael Graham is that not all of them can be found. It is unlikely for even a majority to survive the next year.

Each Harry Graham is showing signs of mental deterioration due to their obsession, and this has led to more than one version of Oxenfree falling apart in destructive and dramatic fashion. It is an absolute fact that this case that can never be solved completely.

In one such incident, one version of Harry killed another who has yet to find his version of Michael. Without the version of Harry, it is physically impossible to locate every version of Michael and return them to their home reality.